Object of the Day: Ladies Perfumed Calendar, 1894

Click image to enlarge.

Nothing says, “Smellin’ Good” like a bird sitting on your shoulder. At least that’s what this young lady seems to think. She’s not the slighted bit concerned. I would be. I like birds. I feed birds. I even allow birds to make their homes in various odd places along the exterior of my house. However, I have to draw the line somewhere, and that moment comes when they want to sit on me. Nothing good can come of that. Still, this lass is not bothered, and I suppose I shouldn’t be either.

The young lady comes from the wonderful fictional Nineteenth Century world of cherubic advertising tots. She’s rosy-cheeked and scrofula free, and, she’s smart enough to have developed a skill—in this case, bird wrangling and flower picking. And, there’s the key. The flowers.

This is another Ladies Perfumed Calendar from our friendly Victorian chums at the Hoyt’s Perfume Company of Lowell, Mass. The folks at Hoyt’s sprayed their wares on all manner of trade cards and calendars which they had commissioned. This was actually a very good idea as it allowed a lady to keep the item in her reticule—thus making it smell better than the street—and, in the case of a calendar such as this one, it was a handy thing which reminded her of Hoyt’s every day. Plus, it had a pretty picture! Everyone wins!

This particular example, one of many in my collection of ephemera, comes to us from 1894. The calendar for the year IS printed on the back, but we can’t see it. All we can see is the back of the scrap book page to which this had been glued, likely in 1895 when the calendar was no longer useful.

As was usually the case, the clever people at Hoyt’s German Cologne also used this opportunity to hawk their dentifrice—Rubifoam For the Teeth. That just doesn’t sound too good to me. But, what do I know?

Object of the Day: A Calendar from 1887

McLaughlin’s XXXX Coffee offered a variety of nifty advertising materials and give-aways ranging from the usual trade cards to paper dolls with detachable heads. You’ve seen examples of each as I’ve shared my collection of ephemera with you. But, perhaps one of the most useful freebies offered by the coffee concern was the annual calendar card which featured a charming image on one side and a handy pocket calendar on the other. They were even printed on extra-thick card stock so they could stand up to wear and tear in someone’s pocket or reticule. 

Here’s a fine example from 1887. 

And, the image on the obverse isn’t nearly as peculiar as other examples! Well done!

Unusual Artifacts: A Silver and Ivory Perpetual Calendar, 1700

Perpetual Calendar
Germany, c. 1700
The Victoria & Albert Museum

While seemingly inconvenient these days, in the Eighteenth Century, the notion of a perpetual calendar—in short, one that could manipulated to be used for a succession of years—was a convenient and economical decision.  Such calendars were made from valuable materials and were often given as gifts.  Here’s a great example made in Germany around 1700.

In this example, the calendar is engraved on the silver covers of this notebook. Inside the covers are bound three ivory tablets which would have been covered with thin layers of wax which could be inscribed with a pointed stylus and, then, smoothed out and used again. 

Consider it an Eighteenth Century iPad.